Fist
Fight (2017/Warner Blu-ray w/DVD)
Picture:
B+/B- Sound: B+/B- Extras: C Film: C
Charlie
Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and legendary
rapper-turned-decent-actor Ice Cube star in the new comedy Fist
Fight (2017). Borrowing heavily from the plot of '80s film 3
O'Clock High, the film still manages to conjure up some laughs
with its strong supporting cast which includes Tracy Morgan, Jillian
Bell, Dean Norris, and Christina Hendricks. Directed by television
helmer Richie Keen (The Goldbergs), Fist Fight is a
comedy with some crude jokes that take it a step too far at times and
may or may not offend its target audience.
On
the final day of high school of the school year, the seniors decide
to pull some of the most elaborate pranks possible, turning the
institution into a playground for bad behavior. Teachers are
resigning left and right and the struggle to keep their jobs has
become a full out competition. Mild Mannered and slight pushover
Andy Campbell (Day) is a teacher with a baby on the way and a wife
and daughter to support so he is trying his best to keep it together
despite the circumstances. All of that changes when he butts heads
with his feared colleague, Ron Strickland (Cube) who challenges him
to a fist fight after Campbell tries to place some blame on him to
the School Principal. Now, this pushover of a guy must go
head-to-head with an experienced and streetwise adversary.
There
definitely comes a few points in the film where believability goes
out the window completely. There is no way these authority figures
would let some of these kids get away with some of these acts, or at
least you would hope. What pushed it over finally for me was a scene
that involved Charlie Day and his daughter at a school talent
competition where she sings a song full of obscenities to an
elementary school audience for four minutes, with no parent or
teacher pulling the plug on her. Totally unrealistic! Some of the
pranks that the kids play are pretty creative and funny, albeit a bit
outrageous, but it is a movie after all.
The
presentation is strong here with a 1080p high definition transfer and
a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a lossless DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) English 5.1 track. For a comedy of this kind, Blu-ray is a
nice outlet as there isn't anything crazy in terms of production
design and the character detail is on point. Also includes is a DVD
edition of the film with an anamorphic 1.85:1 aspect ratio and a
lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track, which is passable.
Also
included is a digital UV copy.
Special
Features...
15
minutes of Deleted Scenes
A
film in Georgia Incentive
Not
a complete mess but Fist Fight will either offend or entertain
you depending on your tastes. It's a shame they didn't give
Christina Hendricks more screen time and a bit more to do here but
Day and Cube have good onscreen chemistry and some funny moments.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
